Raleigh, N.C. — House Speaker Thom Tillis said Tuesday that the General Assembly will take a measured approach to regulatory reform in the coming weeks.

House Bill 74, which was filed last week, calls for state rules and regulations to expire anywhere from the end of 2016 to the end of 2019 and places a 10-year limit on all new regulations, unless lawmakers continue to re-adopt them.

Despite the language in the bill, Tillis said lawmakers are trying to identify "regulations that are maybe in excess of what North Carolina needs in a given category" and create a framework to end them as necessary after giving advocates and opponents a chance to debate whether they should remain on the books.

"It's a very thoughtful, methodical process," he said. "Part of our challenge is how do you go after the regulations that are causing the most problems for no real gains."

Regulatory reform is critical for improving North Carolina's business environment, he added.